For transliteration of Arabic and of Ethiopian languages (Gǝʿǝz, Amharic) into Roman script, see the following charts. Transliteration norms for Ethiopian languages are based on those established by the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, with some exceptions. Where terms or names have entered into English usage, the common English spelling is used: for instance, the Prophet Muhammad, Quran, jihad, imam, Emperor Haile Selassie, the modern capital Addis Ababa; the port city on the Eritrean coast, also, is given as Massawa (not Mǝṣǝwwaʿ), as in the primary entry in the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica. We also make a distinction orthographically between the site of Lalibäla and the king of the same name, Lalibala. This transliteration of the king’s name reflects the more common usage of the king’s own time (ላሊባላ), and has been recommended for general adoption by the encyclopedia’s most recent editor, Alessandro Bausi, on the basis of Marie-Laure Derat’s recent research.¹

A large number of terms, especially personal names, place names, and titles, are attested in the sources in both Gǝʿǝz and Arabic. In direct quotations, the transliteration will reflect the language of the source (thus ḥaḍāni in an Arabic work, but ḥaṣ́ani in a Gǝʿǝz one). Outside of direct quotations, the transliteration will generally reflect the primary cultural context under discussion, with transliteration from both languages provided where appropriate (for instance, where both Gǝʿǝz and Arabic sources are drawn upon). Names of territories are particularly vexing, as several passed from Islamic to Christian control, and some, even under Christian suzerainty, maintained a Muslim-majority population. In this volume, a distinction is made between Muslim Šawah (following the Arabic spelling) and the later Christian province of Šäwa (following the Gǝʿǝz); they are traditionally understood to occupy the same general region south of Amhara, though the extent and precise location of Šawah is a matter of ongoing research. The Islamic sultanate that succeeded Šawah is here given according to the Gǝʿǝz spelling as Ifat, though the Arabic spelling (Awfāt) is noted when quoting from or referring to Arabic authors; the same is true for similar regions such as Däwaro, Bali, etc. The sultanate of ʿAdal was only briefly under Christian control and is here generally rendered according to this Arabic spelling, as it is in the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica (the Gǝʿǝz spelling is Adäl).

In fact, the sultanate of ʿAdal can be denoted less ambiguously by the term Barr Saʿd al-Dīn, as Amélie Chekroun and Bertrand Hirsch observe in their first essay in this volume. This is because the term ʿAdal occurs as a toponym in earlier and later sources, where its geographical parameters were different and its historical continuity with the sultanate of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries is uncertain. For ease of cross-referencing with other literature, the term ʿAdal – the usual name for this sultanate in older scholarship, and the primary entry for it in the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica – is retained here as an alternate designation for the Barr Saʿd al-Dīn, with the equivalence of terms noted.

Churches are here generally identified by locality first, dedicatee (saint) second. Thus, “Bilbala Qirqos” refers to the church in Bilbala dedicated to St Qirqos (Cyriacus). There are exceptions, such as when a church is generally known by its name alone (e.g. Mikaʾel Amba in Wämbärta, Tǝgray, or Ǝnda Abba Ṗantalewon near Aksum). The churches of Lalibäla are prefixed by “Betä” (church [lit. “house”] of) – though technically applicable to any church, the term has become particularly associated in common parlance with the churches of this complex, and is used here only for these sites. It should be noted however that Betä Lǝḥem is a place (“Bethlehem”), such that references to “Betä Lǝḥem Maryam” follow the general rule, denoting the church dedicated to Mary in the locality of Betä Lǝḥem.

A hagiographical work on a confessor-saint (Gǝʿǝz gädl – literally “[spiritual] struggle”) is here referred to as a Life, and a work on a martyr-saint (Gǝʿǝz sǝmʿ) as Acts. The collection of hagiographical texts known in Gǝʿǝz as the Gädlä sämaʿǝtat, which includes both confessor-saints and martyrs, is here translated literally as “Lives (not Acts) of the martyrs.”

Ethiopian personal names are given in references as usual, listing always the personal name and name of the father (and of the grandfather, if a third name is customarily used), without reversal in bibliographic entries.

Dates are identified as CE (Common Era) with regard to the modern Western calendar, AH for the Islamic calendar, and EC for the modern Ethiopian calendar.